Team MacGyver meets Team Callen
by Jasmine-N-Leaves
Summary: 2016 Reboot. Both teams are based in LA. Both teams do super important work. Both teams are secret. This is my take on how they meet. I wrote this months before Flashlight in MacGyver. Rated T just in case.
1. Chapter 1

So I started writing this before the episode Flashlight. Since both teams are in LA I figured why not. Hope you enjoy this.

For those who read my other stories; my computer died before I had a chance to get the stories off them. I'm struggling to rewrite what I've lost. Hopefully now that I'm in the mood to write again, it will be faster.

AN: Don't own either sets of characters. Bugger.

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Three days. Three loooong days. Three very boring and annoying days. Callen looked around the hospital room he was in. Ok, so three days was a bit of a stretch as he'd been out of it for all of the first and the morning of the second. But still, three days. He hated getting shot.

Sam and the rest of the team had come and gone, keeping an eye on him, knowing his propensity for trying to leave early. But even he wasn't game to leave when he had been hit in the femoral artery and had nearly bleed out. The doctors had said that it would be another couple of days until they felt he was up to leaving. On the plus side, they were moving him to another room; the problem, that other room had another patient. But at least the other person was law enforcement of some kind. This hospital had a whole wing dedicated to the care of those who protected and served.

Callen simply laid there as he was wheeled in, looking around to see if he could spot the other person. At first, he saw nothing, until a nurse wheeled in chair, with a very young man in it. Blonde, and looking to be in his mid-twenties; he was pale and had sweat glistening on his forehead. He sat up as the nurse who had brought Callen in went and helped his co-worker with her charge to get him on the bed.

"Now Agent MacGyver, you're going to tear out those stitches if you keep this up. And then you'll be in here even longer than a couple of days." She said as she pulled the blankets over his legs, having given in to MacGyver wanting to sit up. "The doctor will be around soon to check to make sure you've not done further damage, so I suggest you _stay here._ " The last couple of words were said with a meaning of 'or else'. With that she walked out the door, sending one last look at the pair of them. Callen could have sworn he heard "This will be interesting." come from someone, but he was too focused on the younger man to take much notice.

MacGyver was already tugging at the blankets to get up when a voice stopped him.

"If the bandages I'm seeing are any indication, it'll be best if you stay put, kid."

He looked up and was surprised to see another man with him. He had patient scrubs on and was tucked into a bed himself, but was in the process of getting himself into a sitting position as he spoke. He looked to be around Jack's age, a little shorter; with blonde hair and blue eyes that spoke of years of action. "What are you doing here?" in all the times he had ended up in this hospital, this was the first time he had ever had another person in the same room as him.

"Like you, healing. Agent Callen." He said.

Mac looked at him a moment, before noticing the bruising on his face and what looked like the hint of a burn on his neck caused by a Taser. "Getting taken out by a Taser and a punch to the face warrant you being in the hospital?" He asked as he sat back down. He could sense that the older man was more hurt then what he could see, if the colour of his face was anything to go by. That and the bag of blood hanging off the IV pole.

"Not usually." He chuckled, "But getting shot in the leg and damaging a major artery will do it. But if it's one thing I've gotten to know over the years, especially if you don't like hospitals; is that they won't keep you here any longer then absolutely necessary. Sure they'll complain that they don't want you to leave, but they'll do it. If only to get you out of their hair."

Mac looked at him a moment longer before seeing that if it weren't for the blood being administered by the IV, the man would have left the hospital by now. "Agent MacGyver."

Callen smiled at the younger man as he got comfy back on the bed. "Nice to meet you MacGyver. I haven't seen you here before. New to the area?"

"Mac's fine. I've lived here all my life, but I usually get a room to myself because of where I work."

"You can call me Callen. Same here. We had a massive shootout a couple of days ago, so I guess all the rooms are full."

"Guess so."

Callen could see that he was tired as he leaned back and closed his eyes, but was still wired from his escape attempt as he hands kept fidgeting. So he decided to help the kid burn off some of that energy until he fell asleep. He slid to the end of the bed and pulled his file off the clip before returning to his previous position. He pulled a couple of pages from the back and screwed them into a ball, which he then tossed at the younger man, hitting him in the stomach.

The light touch of the paper ball caused Mac to open his eyes and look at the ball and he grabbed it without thinking before it rolled off the bed. Callen saw him look at it a moment before lobbing it back to him. He hit it hand ball style back toward the younger man.

This continued for half an hour until the last of the paper balls found itself hitting the window. Callen had noticed the younger man getting increasingly tired. He saw him almost nodding off before catching himself and waking with a start. He noticed that every time he did, he looked around, as though looking for someone. Recognising the look; he himself had done it a few times; he said, "Get some rest kid, I'll be on watch." When Mac had looked at him with confusion, Callen had said, "You're looking for your partner?" At the younger man's nod, Callen continued. "I know what it's like. You feel like you can't rest without him being on the lookout when you're in a strange place. I get it. Happened a lot to me too."

"How do you get over it?" The kid asked as he lent back against the pillows, his eyes dropping slowly.

"You don't really. Wanting you're partner when you're hurting is normal. You learn to trust others. It took me a long time to trust the rest of my team to watch over me when I was hurt, but once I did, I was able to get better faster. And get out of places like this quicker." He added in an undertone, causing a slightly tired chuckle from the other man. "Sleep, I'll be awake for a while. My partner will be here soon to annoy me."

"Sounds like Jack." Came a mumbled response.

Callen realised that Jack must be the kid's partner and hoped he would make an appearance soon. He would love to meet him.

NCIS:LA MACGYVER

It was couple of hours later that Sam entered the room to find paper balls scattered everywhere and the two occupants of the room lying still in the beds. He didn't recognise the younger of the two, but as the older sat up, he saw his partner. "Hey, G. Got a roomie I see."

"Yeah, seems we caused a bit of mayhem the other day. Kid says he usually gets a room of his own."

"You two aren't the only ones doubled up. I guess being part of a premier team gives you benefits though." At his partners confused look, he elaborated. "All the others have four or five beds in them." He saw the smile on his friends face before it turned to look at the other bed as movement caught his attention.

The young occupant was tossing as a nightmare plagued him. He cried out and Sam could see he was going to fall off the bed. He was about to call a nurse when a paper ball hit the kid on the head. Looking behind him he saw that Callen had somehow managed to get out of bed and had retrieved several of the paper projectiles. He had another in his hand should it be needed.

It had the right affect, as the kid stilled and slowly woke up. "You're Ok, Mac. You're in the hospital." G. said as he got himself back into his bed.

Sam waited at the foot of G.'s bed as the younger man woke up. When he spotted Sam, he waved as G introduced him.

"Sam, this is Agent MacGyver, Mac. Mac, this is my partner of almost ten years, Sam Hannah."

"Hi." The kid's broke a little from being dry, so as he took a drink, Sam asked,

"Hi back. What brought you in?"

"Being tackled over a wall. Think a couple of ribs got hurt bad."

"Bruised ribs do not warrant an overnight stay; believe me I know." Callen said as Sam watched the two. "What else?"

There was a pause before, "The guy had a K-bar that decided it wanted to find a home in my side."

"When was that?" Sam asked.

"The day before yesterday. He was trying to start a street war."

"Tall guy, built like a tank, black hair plaited?" Callen asked as he shared a look with Sam.

"Yeah. How'd you know?" Mac asked.

"He managed to start the war. He was the one who took me out; Marine, if I remember rightly." Callen said as he rubbed his neck where the Taser burn was.

"That must have happened after he got away from us." Mac sounded genuinely contrite at the thought that because he hadn't done his job and gotten the guy, another agent had been hurt. "Sorry."

"Hey, if I couldn't take him down without the help of several others, what chance did you have on your own?" Sam said as he went over and placed a hand on the kid shoulders. "Aside from a few scrapes, no one got badly hurt."

"The war?" Mac suddenly asked "How many innocents hurt?"

"None. We were alerted by an anonymous tipoff of what was going to happen and cleared the area. My guess, by your people." Sam saw some of the guilt leave Mac as he relaxed back into the bed.

"Now you two rest. Mac, I'm sure your partner will be in soon to check on you. The doctors too, although, it might be fun to stick around and see what they think of your game of paperball." Sam said as he looked around the room. He chuckled as he left, seeing the two men look at each other.

Callen looked over at the younger man then the two of them looked at all the paper in the room. Neither felt like getting up a retrieving them; so when they heard footsteps and voices that they recognised as their doctors, they feigned sleep. He heard the doctors and a nurse exclaim at the mess, but seeing that only the papers that had nothing written on them had been used, they relaxed.

Smoothing out a few sheets they left the rest on one of the tables, knowing both patients well enough that they would only do it again.

Callen was hard pressed to stay still when a voice called out a few minutes later, "They've gone Mac." At hearing his roommates name; with a little affectionate humour, Callen assumed it must be Jack, the kids' partner. He stayed still as the two talked.

* * *

Not sure how long this story is going to be. Maybe another chapter or two, no more than that. I'll update as quickly as I can, however, I'm studying and have a full time job, so it'll be when I can. Please be patient with me and enjoy.


	2. Introductions

A/N: Ok, so first off, sorry for not posting anything on this one for a while, but you know, LIFE!. So annoying. Anyway, here's another chapter. This story has taken a life of its own and run off on me, so it maybe more than a couple more chapters. We'll see. Enjoy

Nope, not mine, still, bugger.

* * *

"You good kid?" Jack asked as he looked over his friend and partner. He had entered behind the medical staff, listening to them. Seemed that the other man was also an agent, from what section he didn't know. Whoever he was, Mac seemed to trust him enough to sleep. He looked more rested then he had seen him last.

"Yeah," Mac answered as he gingerly sat up. "Still feel like I got stabbed."

"You did, with a blade that was six inches long. That was no little peelin' knife he used on you kid! It's gonna take you some time to get back on your feet, so try not to do the Houdini thing again for a while. At least until you're not at risk of tearing out your stitches?" Not seeing anything like a promise from his partner, "Please!" at which he got a nod from the younger man.

He would take that and count it as a win. He sat down in a nearby chair and pulled out his phone. Pulling up a game, he looked over at the other man in the room. "Who's the roomie?" which got a snort from the occupant of the bed.

"Agent Callen, you might as well at least open your eyes if you're going to snort at my partner." Mac said, with something that Jack had only heard when talking to him. Comradic humour.

The man in the bed sat up and rubbed his face before getting a drink. Jack saw that he was careful about the IV line in his arm and saw the nearly empty bag of blood. At that moment, the name registered with the man. "Wait, Callen? The Ghost, Callen? The CIA legend?" He sat up, the game forgotten.

"Jack?" Mac was looking at him a little strangely. Not surprising, he was staring at the other man in awe.

"I worked with the company same time as you. Jack Dalton." He held out his hand, which the other man took after a moment. He saw Callen's face clear after few seconds of concentration.

"I remember you. You and your team pulled me out of … somewhere that shall remain nameless in the mid-nineties; saved my life. I remember talking to you on the plane." Callen's face showed gratefulness that he could thank the man once again.

"You became quite the talking point shortly after that." He sat back down, settling in; knowing full well that Mac would be asking a lot of questions. "What happened? You vanished in 98."

He and Callen spent the next hour or so talking about the old days and what they had been up too since they had last talked. He answered Mac's questions best he could without breaking all sorts of confidentially agreements when the younger man asked.

At the hour and a half mark, Callen asked "How'd you end up having a partner half your age?" He nodded toward the sleeping blonde.

Jack smirked. "That's a long story."

"I think we have the time." Callen said.

They talked long into the afternoon about when the two men not only met, but how they became partners and friends. Jack left after Callen finished his tale about how he and Sam met. Jack looked back at Mac and Callen. Something had clicked between the pair, and he was at a loss at to what it was. Mac had drifted off a while ago, not doubt a result from the game of paperball the two had played earlier. But Jack didn't care if it meant that he got some much-needed sleep. Callen had nodded off about five minutes before, and Jack could see that he needed the same thing. He had just closed the door when a tall dark skinned man came up to him, his face saying 'who are you and what are you doing here?'

Knowing the wounded pair needed to rest, he whispered "Jack, Mac's partner."

Sam looked at the man. He was about his age, with salt and pepper hair. He held himself in a way that Sam hadn't seen in a while; at least not since he was deployed.

"Sam Hannah." He shook the offered hand, holding it a moment while saying "Delta?"

"SEAL?" came the response. Each nodded to the other's question and headed down the corridor.

"He doing ok?" Sam asked. He had meant Mac, but Jack answered for both.

"Yeah, they're both sleeping. Turns out my Delta team and I saved your partner back in the day."

That caused Sam to pull up. "What? When?"

"Back in the mid-90s."

Sam wanted to know more, but he also knew that Callen hadn't spoken about anything from that period. 'Waay too off the books', he had said the one time Sam had asked. When he pushed, Callen had done his typical silent act. With a touch of his disappearing one added. He showed up, six hours later with a bloodied lip, black eye and bruised knuckles. Some stern questions from Macey followed, which of course went unanswered. Sam never asked again.

Even though he didn't know Jack at all, he got the feeling he would get the same silent treatment if he asked. Instead he asked, "How's Callen?"

He could tell that Jack got the underlying message. "Tired, wanting to leave, but I think having Mac there is lessening the need. Seems they've clicked."

"Yeah, I noticed that too. I think G's seeing a lot of himself in the kid. Growing up in the system, G didn't have a family to speak of, so he did what he could to help people. He's made me and the rest of his team his family."

"Mac's the same." Jack stated. "He grew up with his grandfather after his pa walked out on him. After he past, me and his best friend, Bozer are the closest thing he has to family."

The pair headed out of the hospital to get their partners food for when they woke in another hour or two. Knowing that they would want real food, the staff overlooked it if it meant that their patients stayed longer to heal. The pair continued to talk about their partners, with each telling the other of how they met. In Jack's case getting Sam's side of the story Callen told earlier.

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A/N: I might do a story about Jack meeting Callen in the future, but I'll see. If you have a suggestion/s about it, let me know, and I will see what I can do.

Also, for how Jack and Mac meet, see my other story, titled When Jack met Mac. Wasn't planning on it, but it seemed to fit.


	3. Contraptions

So here is the next chapter. This story has gone longer than I was expecting. I've just finished it, and will try and post every week. Possibly another three chapters, but we'll see. Enjoy!

None of the main characters are mine, bugger.

* * *

Sam and Jack re-entered the room an hour later to find the two men engaging in creating something. Now that Callen had finished the blood, he was free of the IV and so had made his way over to the bed of the younger man. Sam was surprised to see him still there, having expected a call from either him or the hospital asking to be picked up.

With their backs to them, Sam and Jack watched their friends talking quietly about something, before a shout of "Yes!" sounded from both men, and a small balloon floated above them. Jack just chuckled while Sam was in awe. It seemed to be made from Callen's IV bag, the tubing, a small cup made from tin-foil and seemed to floating from the heat given off by something burning in the foil cup.

The two bedridden men watched the balloon rise a little more until it was caught by the breeze from the open window. It drifted toward their partners, until Jack gently caught it before it could float out into the corridor.

"Where did you get the alcohol from, Mac?" he asked as he brought the balloon back over to the men. It was cooling down, indicating that the little fire was going out as it finished the alcohol. He couldn't see a flame, but he had smelt burning alcohol from Mac's experiments before.

"Callen swiped some of the alcohol wipes when they came to check on us before." Mac answered as he took back the little clear balloon.

"At least tell me you cleaned the bag out before using it."

"Asked for a clean one." Mac said as he carefully put the balloon on his table. "And my knife."

"And they just gave them to you?" Sm asked. He was still a little shocked at what he had seen.

"If they want not only a happy MacGyver but one that will stay put long enough to heal, yes. They know to keep him occupied if they want him to stick around for awhile."

"Huh." Was all Sam had to say. Both Mac and Callen were leaning over the small bedside table that Mac had put the balloon on, talking about how to make the little balloon more directional by adding fins to the bag. Callen suggested cutting the bag longways to make it more aerodynamic and allow more space to put the fins on. Sam shook his head as he put their partner's food on the other table that Jack had wheeled over.

Sam watched in awe as Callen and the kid talked about the shape of the fins, the placement and a multitude of other things that made his head spin, and he was a Junior Math Olympian. And he thought the wonder twins were bad. What was just as surprising was that Callen was understanding everything the kid was saying and putting in his own ideas that Mac got.

"You seem surprised." Jack said as they watched their partners talk, eat lunch and redesign all at the same time.

"Callen's known more for his battle strategies then his scientific prowess." Sam said after watching the two abandon their lunch and start assembling the new and improved balloon.

A chuckle from the older man caused Sam to look at him oddly. "Mac as the ability to bring out the geek in anyone, so long as it's there to be found."

"Meaning?"

"If it was in you, you'd be over there helping." Jack said as he stood and cleaned up the rubbish.

Sam sat for a few minutes more before standing. "I'll catch you later, G." He said as he and Jack left, with each of the other men calling out a similar farewell to his own partner.

Mac and Callen worked on the balloon for another hour or so, until they accidently made the fire too big and it melted the bag, causing it to plummet to the floor. Now that they had killed their fun, literally, both men were starting to get bored. Mac had enjoyed the company of the older man, and was surprised at how well he knew science. After tidying up the mess they had made, since Mac knew he had to if he wanted to get more things to play with, he asked.

"How'd you know the flashpoint of the wipes, Callen?" Mac asked. Callen had managed to set one off by adjusting the window to create a focus point. It wasn't all that hot, not like a magnifying glass, but it had done the job.

"Read it somewhere. And, Sam and I had to get out of a room once. The only thing in it was boxes and boxes of those wipes." Callen settled back into his bed. "We squeezed out as much as we could into a cup, then with the rest, we crammed them around the hinges and the lock. Thankfully, Sam has a thing for long sleeves, especially ones that can create quite a charge."

"You set them off by an ESD." Mac finished.

"Worked rather well, except I didn't have eyebrows for a while." Both men were silent for a moment, until they started laughing.

"What was the rest of the alcohol used for?" Mac asked his older companion once he had his breath back. He saw Callen sober slightly as he answered.

"Sam had been hit, and the wound was starting to get infected. The wipes alone weren't cutting it."

Mac nodded sombrely, having done similar things in the past. They were silent for a while as they occupied themselves with their thoughts on past missions. "What else have you snagged?" Mac asked, a smile pulling at his lips as Callen held up several items.

It was night when Sam and Jack returned. Sam had been expecting a call from either his partner or the hospital asking for him to be picked up. When neither happened, he headed over; bringing with him a bag of healthy dinner. He met Jack at the door and they headed up together. They found the pair talking in hushed tones and scribbling on a sheet of paper. Expecting a similar shout as before, he was surprised when the two men looked up and saw their partners. He's seen a few hands-in-cookie-jar expressions before, but the look both men had then was the best he had seen.

Jack passed the men and looked like he had all the intention of dropping their food on the table. He quickly snagged the paper they had been looking at before they could grab it back instead. "Really, Mac?" He said after a minute of studying the paper before handing it to Sam. "As far as escape plans go, that's the most elaborate I've ever seen."

Sam looked at the paper, but all he saw was a series of drawings, lines and the occasional note; 'only if the nurse is looking the other way' type of thing. "G?" He asked, recognising some of the notes.

"It's too crazy to implement with us injured, but it passed the time." Callen said as he wheeled himself back to his bed.

The nurses had relented and allowed them one wheelchair, knowing that giving them both one would invite the younger of the pair to make something out of the second. And the way Callen seemed to be helping Mac in making things, it would only turn into a war between them. As it was, until an hour ago, Mac had been pushing Callen around the corridor. All the while, the older man had been 'shooting' at everyone with darts fashioned from straws, the sticky pads from the monitors left in the room and paper sabots. The 'gun' had been made from the disassembled table the nurses had found in the room. Callen would later blame it all on the meds he was given a few minutes before.

The food was eaten with comments from Mac and Jack about the food. Callen also offered his thanks and praises to Michell. The four spoke about crazy escape plans that worked, that didn't and ones that simply happened. It was an hour later that a doctor came in, stating that he was covering for the one they had been seeing the last few nights. The other man had a family emergency. Sam and Jack left at that point, seeing that a nurse had also come in with a trolley showing that they were going to redress the wounds. With promises to sign them out the next day, they headed off. The doctor and nurse were looking over charts and checking the trolley before attending the to the patients.

Mac and Callen had turned back to the pages that Sam had returned, so didn't see the doctor. It wasn't until Mac looked up ten minutes later, sensing someone getting close, that he stiffened.


	4. The bad guys had to show up

Ok, so first off, BIIIGGG apology to everyone. I thought I had finished posting chapters for this story and had it completed. Seems I had finished writing it, and only thought I had finished posting it. SOOORRRYYY! SO here we go.

* * *

Callen felt Mac stiffen, having been letting the kid lean on him to relieve some of the pain from his wounds. He didn't outwardly show that he had noticed the change in Mac as he looked up, then followed Mac's line of sight to the doctor and nurse. He didn't recognise them, but that didn't mean Mac didn't.

Mac recognised them, having looked at their files the other day. The man was a cousin to the marine that was trying to start a war in his old 'hood to try and wipe out two waring gangs. The woman was also from the area and had lost her three children to the gangs. They were the most vocal about doing something and Phoenix had their files because of it. He squeezed Callen's arm, feeling the older man respond by wrapping his arm about his shoulders when Mac shuddered.

Callen felt the younger man squeezed his arm as he shuddered; from the cold or fear, he didn't know, but it gave him the excuse he needed to inform him that he understood and would go with his plan. He stood, making it look like he was intending to lay Mac down. "You're cold, once the doc's finished, why don't we get some shut eye."

He grabbed the pan the pair had been using to hold their supplies and threw it at the 'doctor'. With him distracted for a moment, he spun as best he could on his bad leg, and used it to push the wheelchair into the woman. She tripped and by then Mac had managed to get up and had tackled the doctor. Callen hit the nurse call button before defending himself from the 'nurse', who had regained her feet and was now pushing the chair back toward him. Only she had it pointed at him in a way, that if he timed it right; and he somehow did; he would be able to simply fall into it. The shock of him doing that caused her to let go of it, allowing Callen to spin it around and use his good leg to knock her down again. This time he managed to grab her hands and tie them with the tubing that they had salvaged from their balloon to the bed. He turned then to see how Mac was fairing.

Mac had jumped the 'doctor' when Callen had turned to go after the nurse. He was glad about that. He really didn't like to attack women. The man was shocked at Mac's bold move, enough so that he fell over, losing his grip on the gun he had raised; allowing Mac to straddle him. One punch was all Mac got in before the other man hit his ribs. He doubled over at the flair of pain, allowing the 'doctor' to reverse the situation. Mac's back ended up on something hard that wasn't the floor. Between hits, he managed to pull it out. It was the pan that Callen had thrown at the beginning. He spotted its mate nearby, having joined the other on the floor when Mac charged. He managed to grab it as well and brought both pans, bottoms facing each other, hard against his attacker's ears. The effect was instantaneous. He curled into a foetal position and rolled off of Mac, cupping his ears and howling at the pain.

It was at that point that the real nurses and doctors showed up, along with some security guards that had appeared on the floor just as Mac clouted his attacker. Seeing the mayhem of two panting; and in Callen's case, bleeding; patients and two strangers, caused them to pause a moment. Knowing the agents as long as they had was the only thing that stopped them from asking what had happened. It occurred often with the two men and their team mates, so didn't warrant anything more than a momentary glance before getting to work. The guards took the two into custody until the police arrived, while the nurses went to their patients.

Both Callen and Mac knew there was no way they were going to be released tomorrow like planned. So they sat calmly and allowed only the doctors and nurses that they knew to patch them up. After that, they knew it was only a matter of time before their partners showed up.

And show up they did, along with their teams nearly half an hour later. All eight (Nell and Eric were back at ops trying to find out how they got into the hospital) were crammed into the elevator. The meeting in the lobby and the ride up enough time for introductions. Once the doors opened, they were met with the director of the hospital. Knowing that Matty and Hetty wanted to speak with them about how it had happened, the others headed to the room the men had been in the last few days. Only to find it empty of the reason they were there.

"Hetty?"

"Matty?"

The older women looked a moment at their teams 2ICs and Hetty took the lead. "It seems that after subduing the two attackers, Mr Callen and Mr MacGyver allowed themselves to be patched up, but only by doctors they both knew. It seems that in the five minutes they were left alone, they left. And before you ask, Mr Hannah, no. It seems that Mr Callen avoided the cameras and got them both out."

"What's that mean, Matty?" Jack asked. He had no idea what the look Sam had tossed Hetty was, but it seemed that the older of the two short women ninjas did.

"It means, Mr Dalton, that until they want to be found, we won't find them. Our Mr Callen is quite skilled at hiding. I have no doubt that this has also shaken his trust of others to be able to protect him." She nodded at the sigh from Deeks and Kensi.

"And from what I know of Agent MacGyver, he will likely stick with Agent Callen until they are both healed. Even though you are his partner and the closest thing he has to family, he won't call. Not only that, but I think that Mac probably believes that the two that attacked them won't be the only ones looking for them." Matty said. "Hetty, do you mind if we use your resources to find the others. We'll give you the files."

"Mac was pretty upset when he found out that G had been hurt by Slate. That might be a reason he's staying with him now. He's got bruised ribs and a knife wound, but at least he can walk around. G's got a busted leg and can't walk on it unless he wants to reopen that artery." Sam said as they all headed back to ops.

MCGYVER:NCISLOSANGELESE:MCGYVER:NCISLOSANGELESE:MCGYVER:NCISLOSANGELESE:MCGYVER:NCISLOSANGELESE

Callen looked over at the younger man half sitting, half laying in/on the couch in his house. He had gotten furniture for the living room at last after Sam had insisted on getting him a TV to watch the baseball a few weeks back. Now Mac was on the couch while he sat in his chair watching the TV that was currently on mute.

It had taken him a few minutes to convince the other man that not only were they not likely to get released the next day, but that if what Mac had told Callen, there would be others looking for the men who had stopped a war designed to wipe out two major gangs. Mac's place would be the first place Jack would look, Mac had said when Callen had questioned him. His own place being second. Callen had a history of disappearing and not showing up until he wanted to. And in unusual places, so he suggested taking him to his own home, one of the last places his team would think to look for him.

That had been an hour ago. After a hot cocoa, (something that Sam didn't know about) they had sat down to watch a baseball rerun. Only Mac had fallen asleep within minutes. Callen had hit the mute button shortly after and watched the screen for a short while before laying the younger man down properly and covering him with a blanket before hobbling to his own room and falling asleep.

Callen knew he was safe in his own home because the only ones who knew about it were his team. And he had some pretty good security if the person walking into it wasn't. So he slept well, and was only woken by the smell of coffee the next morning. It took him a moment to wonder why his favourite coffee; that Sam didn't know the hiding place of, was on when he was still in bed. Then he remembered Mac. Of course, he would be the one to find it. Callen had no doubt that the kid had a similar thing happening and that was why he had been the one to find it. He headed for a quick shower to wash off the last of the lingering hospital smell before facing the day.

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Again, SOOORRRYYY! Another couple of chapters to go. R&R please.


	5. Science buddies

A/N: Hello. Here's the final chapter.

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"Morning, Callen." Mac called when his host entered the kitchen.

"Grisha." Came the response.

"Pardon?"

"My name. The only reason that the others call me Callen or G. is because until about a year ago, I didn't know my name. So please, Grisha." Callen lent against the bench and took the cup that Mac handed to him.

"Grisha it is then. So, think they've freaked out enough?" Mac asked as he finished making them breakfast. He turned to see Callen take a long sip of his coffee, savouring it and thinking before he answered. Mac returned to the flapjacks he was making and flipped them before popping the toast he was making. He topped it with lightly grilled tomatoes, fetta cheese, a couple of slices of prosciutto and spinach. Callen insisted they go shopping before they arrived at his place, knowing that he didn't have anything to eat.

"Mmm, maybe after breakfast. Though I'm sure that Sam knows where I am now, so he'll be here soon anyway." He looked at the plates before him and changed his plan until after, just so he could enjoy not only the delicious food in front of him in peace, but also the company of a new friend.

"I guess that's what happens when you've been partners for that long as well as friends." Mac said, also tucking in.

"Wasn't always like that." Callen said as he took a bite of the pancakes. At Mac query, Callen told him about their first few years together. Mac in turn, told how he and Jack came together, unaware that Jack had done so the day before.

Callen and Mac were back in the living room an hour later, when there was a knock on his door. The two men paused their poker game before Callen called out, "Come in Sam!" He looked over at the younger man and his face had an _I told you so_ look.

"There's some flapjacks left if you want any, Sam." Mac said as he tossed out and picked up two cards. Callen watched his partners face. It was starting to resemble a tomato, despite his dark skin. He could almost pinpoint the second he would loose his temper and start hounding on him. The only thing that stopped him was Mac, and Callen knew it.

"We were planning on calling you a few minutes ago, but I spotted your car doing a lap of the neighbourhood. So we simply decided to wait for you." Callen said, as both men showed their hands. Each had three of a kind, Callen only winning as he had 8's, beating Mac's 7's. Dropping their cards on the table, Callen stood and limped over to his flabbergasted partner.

Seeing him hobble, must have snapped Sam from his anger induced haze, as he stepped closer to help him. Callen allowed himself to be led back to the couch and Sam took the chair that his partner had vacated.

"You know, both teams have gone nuts trying to figure out where you went. Jack's been going off at any and everyone. Yeah." He added at seeing Mac wince. "Had a spar with him last night after he wasn't able to find you in any of your usual haunts, even after I told him, that since you were with G., you wouldn't be there."

"I'm not going to apologise, Sam. They should never have gotten to that level. Expect me to be more vocal about wanting to leave in future." Callen said as he sipped his now lukewarm coffee. Seeing the wince cross Sam's face, Callen nodded, seeing that his meaning had been heard. Trusting that hospital again was going to take a long time.

Just then, Sam's phone rang. Callen watched as he winced, so it was either Hetty, or Jack. When he handed the phone to Mac, Callen figured that it was the latter.

"Hi Jack." Mac answered it on speaker phone, with good reason. The shouting that Jack did could be heard from across the street. Mac simply waited for the older man to get it out of his system before he opened his mouth. "In case it escaped you notice, two people got unauthorised entry to a secure section of that hospital. I think Callen and I were well within our rights to leave before more showed up."

"Still would have liked a heads up buddy." A sigh could be heard over the line, "Where are you?"

"Callen's place." He rattled of the address. "And if we had told you we weren't going to be there, it would have looked odd to the staff if you hadn't showed up. They had to have had someone let them in, or give them a card."

"Sam, you said the one place they wouldn't be was where they would normally go."

"And for everyone else, that's true." Sam said, looking at his partner, "But, G. has a habit of not only not going to the same place twice, but he also never shows up where you expect him to. Hence why I let you look around knowing it would be for nought. G. is a master at hiding. He won't be found unless he wants to be." Sam smiled a little at that, knowing how frustrating it was for him and everyone else, but also knowing that it had kept G. alive on several occasions.

"Why did you go to your place, Callen? Surely you would have thought that Sam would find you there eventually?" Jack asked. They could hear him driving so figured that he would be there soon.

"Because I never go home after something like that. Too risky. But Mac was flagging and my leg was starting to hurt. I figured that at the very least, we'd have a safe place to crash, and weapons on hand if need be." Callen said, looking out the window as another car pulled up behind Sam's. A gorgeous red Mustang, with Jack at the wheel. At that moment, the phone shut off, and the doorbell sounded shortly after. Calling out to come in, Callen took the phone from Sam and headed into the kitchen to talk to Hetty.

It was over an hour later that the other two men left, after checking that their partners hadn't done anything to reopen their wounds. Hetty had been surprised to learn that Callen had gone home. After talking to her and assuring her that they were fine. Hetty said that he could stay there for a couple of days, so long as he and Mac got checked over at the hospital daily.

Mac's boss, Matty, had also said he could stay there, under the same conditions. So after hanging up they headed to the hospital. They left an hour later, and after a pitstop at a local hardware store, they headed home.

It was the next morning after they had returned from the hospital that Sam and Jack arrived with lunch. Jack held the door open for the taller man, only for them both to stop at the sight before them. The living room was filled with tables and on them were a multitude of 'things'. Jack chuckled and continued onto the kitchen while Sam looked, and looked, and looked. There was no other word for what he could see on the tables. They looked half finished, some looked like the balloon they had made at the hospital, some like the 'dart' gun they concocted, while others he had no idea about. He slowly followed Jack into the kitchen, still looking.

"And this is why I love and hate Mac." Jack chuckled as he saw Sam's reactions. "He's able to create anything on his own, but if he's found someone to make them with, things get a whole lot worse. My guess they're out back, working on a full-size version to see if it will take their weight."

That had Sam snapping his head back to him. "Why would they be doing that?"

Another chuckle, "Because that's Mac. He's always wanting to try out what he makes. And if he has the opportunity to make it the best he can, he will. I still remember that blasted robot." He shuddered, then answered Sam's questions as he followed the home owner's partner out the back.

Sure enough, there were their partners, filling a balloon with hot air. It was about the size of a car. While not quite big enough to hold a person, Jack could see that it had been designed to hold equipment, if the basket under it was anything to go by.

"Mac, what are you up to now?" He said, as he handed out sodas. The meds they were on not allowing them to have alcohol.

"Just trying to improve Callen's already remarkable security. Although this isn't exactly as subtle." He looked skywards for a moment before turning to Callen. "Grisha! You got anymore rope, I think this thing's going to go higher than we thought."

Jack saw the look of surprise on Sam's face as Mac called out to Callen. "Why the face?" He asked.

"No one calls him that. He didn't even know his name until a year ago."

"And you and the team don't call him that because?"

"We're all use to calling him G. or Callen. Not even Hetty calls him anything but Callen."

The rest of the afternoon was spent simply watching Mac and Callen play around with the balloon. They let it go as high as it could, well as high as the rope, strapping tape, old ripped sheets and anything else they could fashion had allowed, before pulling it back down, and having it sit just above the house. Under it they had slung a more refined version of the dart gun they had made at the hospital. Somehow, they had managed to get it on a swivel that could be controlled by remote so that it could be turned in any direction. For Jack, it was nothing new, but seeing the look on Sam's face, he could tell he had never seen his partner like this. So, he talked. About some of the crazy things Mac had done to get them out of tight spots; about some of the things he had made that hadn't worked and some of the more spectacular explosions that had come about from something innocuous to begin with.

Sam realised that this side of Callen was always there, but because of how the rest of the team saw him, he had never been able to bring out this side of him. He was seen as a strategist, a planner, a fighter, a leader. Not a scientist. He hoped that the two men would be able to get together in the future, as he had never seen G. so happy. The only other time had been when he had found out his name.

He ducked as something made the gun explode and suddenly they were covered in plastic as the balloon popped and lost the hot air they had used to inflate it. He and Jack laughed as they saw the look on their faces. Like a favourite toy had been taken away. It was there only for a moment before they started to talk about how to improve it. It was all Sam and Jack could do to convince them to at least have lunch and get checked over to make sure they hadn't reopened anything.

Sam didn't think he had to worry anymore about his wayward partner as he saw his face and heard his voice as he talked to Mac about different things. He had family in Sam and the rest of the team. And he had good friends in Mac and Jack. And he had someone that he could talk the ear off about science stuff when he needed to. All in all, things were looking up; so long as they left him out of any hair-brained schemes.

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A/N: And there we go. I hope those who have stuck with me, have enjoyed this story. I always think Callen is smarter than we see him on the show.

Until next time, see you 'round the ridges! ;)


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